Pages

Thursday, 8 May 2014

Empress of the sun

My birthday isn't until next week (the 18th, presents, cards etc welcome), but one gift has come early. I never expected to see one of these glorious creatures in my light trap: a female Emperor Moth, the species given the honour of monopolising the cover of the Moth Bible.

They are not actually uncommon but I associate them with upland heather moors where I found their cocoons as a schoolboy, tramping down from Ravenscar to Boggle Hole near Robin Hood's Bay. But I should have been ready. There have been Emperor catches on the excellent Upper Thames Moth blog to which I also contribute, somewhat more pithily than here.

The Emperor is a dayflyer (hence my tweak of J G Ballard for this post's title) but the Empress is the one which also comes to light, usually early in the evening. So it was lucky that I over-rode my original judgement last night and decided to put out the trap in spite of gusty conditions and the forecast of rain. Not expecting much, I was over the moon to find her dozing on one of the top eggboxes this morning, alongside a Poplar Hawk, a Powdered Quaker, two Flame Shoulders, a Hebrew Character, a Shuttle-shape Dart and - new for this year like the Emperor - a Heart and Dart.

Better still, beneath the Empress's wings there was a clutch of eggs which I now plan to raise as caterpillars to increase the species population hereabouts next year. More on this as we go along. My next decision is whether to try 'assembling' before releasing the Empress. This is a moth enthusiasts' practice whereby a captive female is placed under netting which often attracts courting males - a trick also played by MI5, the KGB & Co.

HELLO EVERYONE!

This is a blog about moths recorded and released in gardens in Leeds (2008-13) and Oxfordshire (2013 to date). I hope that you find it interesting. Click on the three tabs above for additional info, including a full illustrated records list. All warm wishes MW